Review: L'Oreal Color Riche Moisture Matte Lipstick

Ah before last week I didn't own a single L'Oreal lipstick, now I have three, and I love them so much. I was a bad shopper when I saw Spring Rosette at Target i immediately picked it up without a second thought, even though in hindsight it would have been much smarter to go to Priceline and the the 2 for 1 deal, which is how i picked up the other two shades.

Completing a week of all matte products these are probably the ones that have given me the biggest makeup thrill, they are as the name suggests both rich, pigmented and moisturizing, they contain both Argan and Jojoba oil to help combat dryness, are long-wearing and leaves a stain/tint on your lips as it fades away.

The packaging looks lovely, rich and luxe, with a small acrylic square to indicate the color. There are 8 shades and almost all are incredibly wearable and most could be very work safe too, I'm blown away by the colors and it's entirely possible I'm going to go pick up more.

The shades  i currently own are Flaming Kiss, Spring Rosette, and Cherry Kiss all of which are amazing, though my first shade Spring Rosette is by far my favorite. The lipsticks are super soft and you really feel like quality products, the intense pigmentation and moisturizing feel combined with the amazing color selection make these completely worthwhile. With the current 2 for 1 deal at Priceline they also could not be more affordable as your essentially getting each lipstick for around $10.

Cherry Crush is a pale slightly milky pink, it;s very smooth and despite being the lightest of the three is still very pigmented and is a great work shade.

The shade unlike the other two, has a almost incandescent quality where you can see a almost blue/purple reflection in the color that doesn't quite show up on camera. It's a slightly darker and more plum toned version of Cherry Crush.

Flaming Kiss is an orange based red with the most perfect texture I have ever tried on a red matte lipstick.

I highly recommend these lipsticks, their pigmented and far more easy on the lips then even the Revlon Matte Balms and they have the added benefit of leaving a stain after they fade away. I'm so glad I tried a new line of lipsticks as they have far exceeded my expectations.

What's your favorite drugstore lipstick brand?

Review: L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau De Teint

Holy Crap I love this foundation, I'm not buying any other drugstore foundation ever again so long as this is on sale, and there after I will go on the black market  and sell illegal goods to get more of it. 

Okay, now in perspective this is a amazing foundation, BUT it's not going to be for everyone; if you have skin that needs heavier coverage due to acne or similar, or very oily skin then this is not the way to go and you will probably really hate it. However if you have relatively good skin, and dislike heavy foundation then this is the greatest foundation.

I usually like using bb creams or tinted moisturizers rather then foundation because I hate my face feeling heavy or cake like, this is such a thin and light foundation is feels like your just putting some water on your face - it's a foundation that feels refreshing!

The frosted glass bottle is gorgeous and adds to the lightweight feel of the product, the bottle is smaller then average but you honestly need such a tiny amount to cover your face that it's almost ridiculous. Basically just imagine the amount of water you would need to cover your face and you'll have a good estimate of the the amount.

I think some people will dislike the fact that it doesn't have a pump but I'm not sure how well that would work with such an incredibly thin formula but it's not a huge turn of for me.

I was so shocked at how good the coverage on this foundation is, I honestly expected it to be a sheer coverage but it does a fantastic job of evening out skin tone and getting rid of redness. It doesn't looks great over bumps or pimples but it does cover discoloration and any odd pigmentation.

It feels great too, it's a slightly powdery finish, velvet like would be the best description. It stays on for hours, I got 8 hours at least every day that I have worn it. It is important to remember to shake up the bottle before using it and then I have tried many way of applying it and although fingers are probably the best, i have had great success with the RT Stippling brush and to a slightly lesser extent with the RT Expert Face brush.

Seriously this is my new favorite foundation and I ain't going back.

Base Compare

Well, first things first. I have too many makeup bases. I didn't used to, in fact i'm not quite sure what happened.. I used to use one up then go buy another but now I hear something or see something talking about a shiny new foundation or a cult fav and somehow here it is... Well in  attempt to stop this I thought I would take the time to compare some of these for you and also try to control my own base-addiction so I won't be buying anymore until I finish at least 6 of these. I'll note how much has already been used in the post below too.

Foundations

So my collection of Foundations includes; Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (bought start of this year), Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation, Illamasqua Skin Base, L'Oreal Eau De Teint, NYX Matte but not Flat Foundation, Korres Vitamin Foundation, and Rimmel Stay Mate Foundation.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum - This have been my everyday foundation since the start of the year when I found it on special, it's a great match for me once it's buffed out even though on the swatch below it looks quite dark. I would repurchase this but probably wait till there was a sale again as it was good but not the amazing foundation that people had raved about.

Texture: Liquid 

Finish : Dewy

Opacity: Sheer, buildable

Wear: 6- 8 Hrs

Rebuy: Only on sale

Why I haven't finished it:  It's nearing on empty, maybe a month use left

Bourjois Flower Perfection Foundation - I got a sample of this once and it was so god damn amazing I went and bought the full product full price and then tried it at home and was...deeply disappointed, it was not the smooth flawless coverage from the sample. it was thick, heavy and cake-y and I hated it but never threw it away because I still hoped one day I would find that one thing that could make it work. I would take it out every few months and try again and no luck, until last week! I finally found the one way this can be applied and look amazing - a damp beauty blender! With it you can get a very covered look but it won't feel heavy or look like you have a face full of foundation on. Success!

Texture: Liquid 

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Very Heavy

Wear: 8- 12 Hrs

Rebuy: No, too difficult to work with

Why I haven't finished it: Stopped using it due to difficulty of use.

Illamasqua Skin Base - shade SB02 - I love this foundation, it's amazingly pigmented for very little product. It's very pale and a little hard to use  if i get a but of sunlight but that's not usually a concern. But the biggest problem is the packaging which is so hard that it's very difficult to actually get any product out as it's more cream then liquid. 

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 5- 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes, if the packaging was changed

Why I haven't finished it: I save it for special occasions and the packaging is hard to use on a daily basis

L'Oreal Eau De Teint - shade 120 Pure Ivory - I've been keeping an eye on the advertised space in Priceline for weeks and lucky me it showed up just the Priceline 40% off sale came around so I snatched it up. Been using it everyday since then and I'm very much in love, it's so light and feels like there is nothing on my face. It's so effortlessly easy to blend and feels lovley, soft , and smooth to the touch.

Texture: Super Liquid

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Sheer, buildable

Wear: 6-8 Hrs , wears away well

Rebuy: yes

Why I haven't finished it: I just bought it

NYX Matte but not Flat Foundation - 04 Creamy Neutral , I picked this up last November when NYX first arrived at my local Target. I wanted to like this as the color match for me was quite spectacular however it did something no other foundation or bb or cc or any other kind of base ever has - it found dry patches on my normal/oily skin. Madness!

Texture: Cream/Mousse

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 4- 6 Hrs 

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It's the first and onyl foundation to ever cling to supposed dry bits on my screen so it doesn't look good. Might try the beauty blender on this.

Korres Vitamin Foundation - I got this is a special package along with a few Korres lip balms which are also awesome and for most of last year this was my go-to-foundation and was the one I picked to take with me to Melbourne. It's very good and long lasting foundation that is great at controlling shine and it's too bad that it's been discontinued as I do feel that it made my skin look better.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 6- 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes, but discontinued

Why I haven't finished it: I got new foundation (Illamasqua) that I was eager to try and this fell to the back of the drawer.

Rimmel Stay Mate Foundation - I picked this one up at the Priceline 40% off last November and it was probably a mistake since it's quite similar to the NYX Stay matte but not flat, it feels heavy and although the coverage is great I don't really feel comfortable in it. This one however does not stick to apparent dry patches like the NYX.

Texture: Mousse

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Medium/Heavy

Wear: 4 - 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It turned out to be si thick and heavy it didn't feel comfortable on the skin, another one for the beauty blender.

BB & CC Creams 

This collection of Foundations includes; Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream, Ponds Flawless Whitening BB Cream, Nivea BB Cream, Garnier Oil Free BB Cream, Revlon Photoready BB Cream and the Watsons Collagen BB Cream.

Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream - I saw on this some blogs and various youtube channels and it seemed to get a lot of love, I got shade 33 which is a smidgen too dark and I have worn this twice since purchase because I fell in love with the L'Oreal Eau De Taint.

Texture: Liquid

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Medium

Wear:  4-6 Hrs

Rebuy: probably not, it's nice but I still like my Ponds BB cream better.

Why I haven't finished it: Just bought it

Ponds Flawless Whitening BB Cream- This is my favorite bb cream as it's a great match, it's a little thicker and ashy like an asian bb cream but is so much more easily available. I've gone through 2 of these and will almost certainly repurchase it again and again.

Texture: Liquid/Cream 

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Medium, buildable

Wear: 8- 12 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes, have before

Why I haven't finished it: This one has been in rotation between the Bourjois health mix and is almost finished, maybe a week or two left.

Nivea BB Cream - A gift from mum when she went to Poland hence the crazy unreadable text, and i love the smell of it as it has that comforting Nivea smell but oh gosh the color is so wrong, it might as well be bright orange!  I tried it on a stay at home day to see how it lasted and it did okay, the texture reminds me of the Dove tinted moisturizer I used to use as a teenager.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Matte

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 4-6 Hrs

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It's the wrong color, probably going to give this away.

Garnier Oil Free BB Cream - This was my first ever brand of bb creams, I used the regular before the oil control version came out and then switched over, it's cheap and works quite well. There is really nothing wrong with this bb cream but for my skin the Ponds bb cream is much better for basically the same price.

Texture: Liquid 

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Sheer, buildable

Wear: 6- 8 Hrs 

Rebuy: No, have found better matches since but I have re bought it in the past and gone through at least 3.

Why I haven't finished it: Found better color matches and better lasting products.

Revlon Photoready BB Cream - This was largely a purchase made at the spur of the moment due to excitement at seeing a new BB cream (when i bought this there was maybe 3-4 or the maker, not like 30 that there are now) and I probably didn't need it but id recently finished another bb cream and obviously felt that there a gap of some sort. It's not horrible but it;s very sheer and doesn't control oil at all, so this would be amazing on someone with dry or normal skin and a good complexion. While my complexion is much improved since I was a teen my forehead can get a bit oily especially on hot summer days.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Dewy

Opacity: Sheer

Wear: 4- 6 Hrs 

Rebuy: No

Why I haven't finished it: It's so sheer and hardly build-able and terrible at oil control so it fell to the back of the drawer.

Watsons Collagen BB Cream - Another present from mum, this one from Singapore and it;s amazing. Probably better then my Ponds bb cream but it is almost impossible for me to get, it's a better texture and coverage but does harden a little in cold weather and needs some heating in your hands but is perfect in summer. If it was easily available I would get this BB cream and no others.

Texture: Cream 

Finish: Satin

Opacity: Medium

Wear: 8- 12 Hrs 

Rebuy: Yes

Why I haven't finished it: I'm so close to finishing it, if i do it will be gone and I will never find it again. That makes me sad. Has maybe a month or so left in it.

Review: L'Oreal Glam Bronze

As I mentioned in my last favorites post I came across this after striking out at buying the honey bronzer from body shop, I wondered over to the makeup section at Target while my boyfriend was trying on pants (as you do) and spotted what is possibly the most pale bronzer I have ever seen. Being as pale as snow makes it hard to wear most drugstore level bronzer because I end up with orange mud face which isn't all that attractive to be honest with you. So I swatched it on my hand and it was love at first swatch!

The shade is Blond Harmony and it's a duo bronzer/highlighter, this seems to be a re brand from L'Oreal as when I tried to look up what others thought of the darker shades i got a whole bunch of sun embossed bronzers sporting the same name and shade just different packaging. I have no idea if it's just a repackage or a formula change as that info seems quite scare. But the old version seemed pretty well loved but I will judge this on it's own merits. (But if you have used the older version I would love to hear from you!)

It's a double layered product which hides a useless brush similar to Physician's formula products, I wish they would just ditch this and just save the customer a bit of money, as I have never known anyone to use these brushes or applicators. Moving on, as you can see there is more bronzer then highlighter which might suck if you love the highlighter shader ore but it's perfectly ok with me as i bought it for the bronzer and the highlighter is just a nice little extra. Though despite not being the star of the show it has some bling.

So far this is the best bronzer I have found for my skin, and the highlighter is shimmery but on my skin tone largely without color which actually works quite well. If you have trouble matching to a light skin tone this might be the one for you, also Priceline is having a 30% of L'Oreal this week so now is a good time to try it out.

February Favorites

It's been a pretty good month for me makeup wise as I found quite a few products and grew to love a couple that were already in my stash. Let's start with the new items this month:

L'Oreal  Studio Secrets Professional Eye Shadow Quad in Desert Sands - I'm loving this color combination, it's perfectly neutral but also a little bit special. The colors are pigmented enough that I don't feel bad using this over something else and the small size makes it easy to travel with and store. Since my place is tiny I can only keep a few things near my mirror and this is a bit easier then my beloved Naked 2.

L'Oreal Glam Bronze in Blond Harmony - Finally a bronzer I can actually use, I've never been a huge fan of bronzer because it's so hard to find one for pale girls, I originally wanted to pick one up from Body Shop but it was sold out and the next day I saw this at 30% off and snatched it up. I like the little highlighter part as well, another great one for travel!

Revlon Scented Perfumerie Nail Polishes - in Apricot Nectar, Spun Sugar, Autumn Spice, and Watermint

I got two and then couldn't resist getting more, I love them for their amazing color application and surprisingly not terrible and overwhelming scents. Their subtle so your not smelling it every time your hand goes past your face but it's there if you stick your nails near your nose. Also these are the only polishes in a long time that have lasted more then 3 days on me (without top coat!). I only wish they were a tad less expensive!

I also fell in love (or more deeply in love?) with a few things that were already in my stash, these were:

Revlon Nearly Naked Mineral Powder in 010 Fair - I love the ease of using this, so much faster then a liquid or mousse foundation, just brush it one, add a bit of powder blush and your good to go! It's a little messy but it's too easy to use for that to be a big problem.

MAC Paint Pot in Rubenesque - My favorite base lately, the L'Oreal quad looks great over this as it really brings out the shimmer and helps it last, plus it's so soft compared to some of my Maybelline Eye Tattoos some of which kind of dried out despite being closed.

Benefit They're Real mini mascara -  I picked this up from a Lust Have It box a few months back and really liked it, this month i started using it again as I got new contact lenses and to begin with was a bit weirded out by the possibly of mascara gunk in my eyes that tends to come of larger brushes. 

Real Techniques Buffing Brush - I've loved this brush since the moment I got it and if I had to give all my brushes away and was only allowed to keep one it would be this one. It's so soft and dense there is very little you can't do with it; I've used it for liquid and powder foundation, blush and recently as a bronzer brush. It's amazing!

Review: L'Oreal Studio Secrets Professional Eye Shadow Quad

Today we are looking at the L'Oreal  Studio Secrets Professional Eye Shadow Quad in Desert Sunrise which i picked up last week for all of $5 at a Terry White Chemist which seems to be trying to get ride of a bunch of makeup which were a part of Christmas deals. I spotted this one and was quite taken by shade 1, it was a lovely shimmery peach with slight taupe undertones.

106 Desert Sunrise

It's a very nice neutral pallet (especially for the price) the colors are; 

1 - A shimmery pink/peach with a slightly taupe or purple undertone. Very soft and blends incredibly well

2 - A satin like shade that's more creamy then white but is actually quite pale

3 - A pale brown matte that's very similar to MAC Wedge, a great blending/transition color

4 - A dark brown matte that's great as an eyeliner or eyebrow color. it also works very well with a damp brush if you want to up the intensity.

Without Primer

All the colors are quite pigmented and not very chalky, this is a great everyday pallet which I have used everyday since purchase, my favorite look with this is:

Do you have a favorite low end neutrals quad you love?

August 2013 Most Reached For

I don't always do these posts because month to month i usually reach for the same stuff, but every now and again new stuff comes in that seems to take over my world. The last two months have very much cause this to happen, everything here except the brow brush is either from Melbourne or from Birthday presents.

Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction perfume (and matching shower gel) is probably my most loved perfumed since i got my very first Angel perfume, it's the most gorgeous scent combining red plum and freesia, with what i suspect is vanilla and rose thrown in too. It's sweet, it's fruity, but it's not a kiddy scent, it is as the name says very seductive. I bought this at the domestic airport in Perth, where if you didn't know there is a Victoria's Secret store. However you have to go up into the Qantas boarding lounge to get to it (ie. you have to go through security check). But boy i think this will be worth going back for. Plus the bottle is gorgeous.

Models Prefer Retractable Brow Brush in medium is at the end of it's rope and i will be repurchasing soon as it's just so very easy and fast to fix up your brows. It has a spiral brush on the other end which blends out any harshness you might add in your haste. The easiest way that i have found to do my brows. My mum loves it too, she's gone through 4 of them.

Illamasqua's Hydra Veil has been the go to morning primer and moisturizer because there is no reason to use anything else. It's very hydrating, and as a primer works very well too. It leaves your face slightly tacky making foundation/bb cream application a breeze. Plus you only need th tiniest bit so it will last a very long time.

MAC Rubenesque has been my eyeshadow primer of choice basically everyday that i got and it's a gorgeous color. Full review coming soon. I love the Maybelline Eye Tattoos and they are totally worth the money, and if they had released a color anywhere close this golden peach shade i wouldn't have bothered with the MAC paint pot. But wow, it's just too pretty to pass up.

L'Oreal Color Infaillibles have made me pretty crazy this month, i love the almost insane levels of pigmentation and the absolute smoothness that they apply with, i wish i had discovered these earlier. I would honestly say that the quality is as good as anything in my Naked Palette.

Pond's Flawless White BB+ in light is a great purchase, i saw the stand appear in Perth before i left for Melbourne but both this BB cream and the Mature Age BB cream were out of stock with a shrug indicating when it might be in. I did however manage to find it in Melbourne and it's just great. It reminds me of the Watsons BB Collagen Cream which mum brought back from Hong Kong due to it's thicker consitency. It also has SPF 15 which is nice. This might be my new go to BB cream.

Last but not least, Illamasqua's Powder Blush in Katie, I have worn this blush basically everyday since i got it. It got great pigment, smells like vanilla and is the most gorgeous baby/pastel pink which works so well with a pale complexion. The only time i haven't worn this, i wore Illamasqua's rude instead.

Empties: August 2013

I don't usually do Empties post (read : never) because my apartment is small and i have enough stuff filling it up without keeping junk that;s empty or used up. However this month i set myself the challenge to do it and i ended up finishing enough products to make it worth posting.

The products are as follows:

Swisspers cotton wipes

++++ repurchase: yes

Go to cotton wipes, i find them soft and easy to use though i prefer the pads, especially for nail polish removal, but those are a little expensive. The work just as well but can be a bit fluffy when it comes to nail polish.

Savvy makeup remover wipes

- - -  repurchase: no

These made my skin sensitive, i don;t usually have sensitive skin so no way am i repurchasing this. They smelled fine and worked okay but after a swipe or two they started to make my skin feel raw and achy, sort of like how your nose area feels when you have a cold and have to keep wiping it.

Bastise Dry Shampoo in Tropical

+++ repurchase: yes

Great dry shampoo, i sometimes forget to use it though because i perfer to just wash my hair but on the odd days i forget or get lazy this is a god send, i'm currently trying out the cherry one and i really love the scent so i might look for a full size of that rather then my go tropical.

Models Perfer Mattifying Primer

+ repurchase: no

This worked well as a primer, not exceptional but not bad. The reason i won't repurchase is because after about two months the lid would no longer stay screwed down and started to get gel over items in my makeup bag. Not fun so this one is a no go.

L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara in black

+++ repurchase: yes

I love this mascara and will repurchase as soon as i have gone though a few others or they have a sale on L'Oreal as the thin brush makes it so easy to get the lashes on your lower lid but does a great job separating lashes in the top lid. My lashes are naturally long so i don't need a huge amount of volume but this still does add extra oomph.

Schwarzkopf Brilliance Conditioning Sample

- repurchase: no 

This was okay, i noticed my hair color leaked a lot after i used this, i 'm not sure if it was because of this or because it had only been my second wash since dying it but this didn't do anything special, smell especially nice or give me any other reason to repurchase.

Aveda Conditioning Sample

+ repurchase: no

This conditioning cream was a bit nicer in that it smelled good but there honestly wasn't enough product for me to tell if it was any good so i might try the brand at some point but feel no inclination ti go out and try this any time soon.

Lynx For Her Deodorant

+ + repurchase: yes

I like this, it lasts throughout the day and the lock cap makes it great for travel. You can even take it on a plane because of that. It smells pleasant enough and works, with good packaging. Not sure if this is still limited edition or not.

Honey I Washed the Kids shower gel

++++repurchase: yes

A great honey smelling gel, it's a gel version of the solid soap that Lush have had for a long time and i will surley repurchase this again, however right now im rotating Philosophy's Cinnamon Buns shower gel and Victoria's Secret Pure Seduction shower gel both of which are super yum.

Not pictured

Fresh Farmacy

+++++ repurchase: yes

I go through at least one of these or more in a month and i will continue to buy this until i die because it's the most amazing cleanser. That is all.

Gold/Plum Eye Makeup Tutorial

Hey Beauties, i decided to take a shot at doing a tutorial with some of my eyeshadow recent and not so recent as eye makeup has very much been my focus, especially since i purchased 10 of the Color Infallible eye shadows and have been over the moon about them since.

Products Used:

MAC Rubenesque paint pot

Color Infallible eyeshadow in Goldmine

MAC Amberlights

MAC Star Violet

Essence Cappuccino, Please!

Urban Decay Blackout

Models Prefer Liquid Liner in Brilliant Brown

Physicians Formula Eye booster in Ultra Black

Maybelline the Falsies mascara

1. Starting with a makeup ready face, ie. foundation and primer in this case it was Ponds BB Cream as foundation and Illamasqua Hydra Veil as a face primer.

2. Apply MAC Rubenesque as a eyeshadow base to the base of your eye lid. Not into the crease. Smudge it out so it's not too thick.

3. Apply Goldmine to the lid by patting it on with flat and rounded brush.

4. Apply Amberlights to the crease and corner of the eye, going over some of Goldmine.

5. Apply Cappuccino, Please! to the brow bone and blend out slightly, apply some to the inner corner and blend out.

6. Apply Violet Star to the upper lid and blend out into Amberlights and Cappuccino, Please!  Finish off with black eyeliner, i used Physicians Formula Eye booster in Ultra Black on the top and Models Prefer Liquid Liner in Brilliant Brown on the bottom lashes. Lastly top with  Maybelline the Falsies mascara.

Review: L'Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadows

So as i mentioned in my pre-birthday post i picked up two of the L'Oreal eyeshadow at a target clearance sale, those two colors were Sahara Treasure and Naughty Strawberry for $4.83 each. I then tried them both over the next few days and realized what i had been missing out on, and it was a lot. So of course i went back for a more thorough search and emerged victorious with 6 more colors. I'm so in love with these right now, i honestly must say that in terms of pigment and ease of use they approach Urban Decay levels of awesome. Having said that i usually hate loose pigments, in fact loose "powder" anything is usually way more work then I'm willing to put in due to the mess, the difficulty, the packaging.

Usually it just doesn't work for me. These however are not like that, they are pressed pigments which means they don't throw around quite the same levels of mess, the container is big enough to dip a brush or a finger, and there is no mesh plastic to get in your way so the control is all in your hands about how much you use. The packaging is plastic, fairly light and holds 3.5g of product and a stopper to push the pigment into place.

The product itself is very soft and almost spongy in it's consistency, it's odd to describe a powder product as creamy but these really are. Supposedly they last 24hr, i don't know but they lasted 10 hours easily enough and personally i experienced no creasing using Illamasqua Hydra veil, Illamasqua color pigment or a Maybelline eye tattoo as a base.  They are very shimmery but i would say most are still work safe though i have read that there are a few matte shades out there somewhere. 

Most bloggers seem to have had better luck with using fingers over brushes but personally i have had great luck with both, and i would say that using a slightly harder flat brush works very well at picking up the pigment and blending is a breeze no matter how you do it.

Now let me share my awesome stash with you:

021 Sahara Treasure

 Sahara Treasure is a warm shimmery bronze that almost approaches a taupe color. I leans a little towards gold and makes a lovely everyday shade. The base color seems to be a golden sort of beige and then when you blend it out it is mostly gold. Despite this and the shimmer the color is still fairly neutral and wearable.  Cost $4.83

022 Emerald Lame

Emerald Lame, which is quite an odd name is a dark slightly olive toned green that could be described as a dark khaki color. Greens aren't my usual forte but when they blend this smoothly and sit so well i am willing to make an exception and give it a try. Also known as Golden Emerald in the US.
Cost $0.83

027 Goldmine

 Goldmine is a perfect warm toned gold that has a hint of a creamy almost beige base, a close inspection reveals a few dark orange sparkles but they don't show on the lid and seem to mostly just add depth to the warm gold overtones. Sadly this one had it's stopper removed but the product doesn't seem to have been harmed at all. This one also calls itself Gold Imperial in the US.
Cost $0.83

031 Innocent Turquoise

A faintly warm toned blue/green shade from the Miss Candy collection. It leans more toward blue then green with tiny specks of golden yellow that do not really show up on the lid but do add shimmer and dimension. It's a lovely shade and i personally found it showed up quite well. Cost $4.83

032 Sassy Marshmallow

This was one of the colors from the Miss Candy collection, it's a cool toned silvery blue with a hint of lilac and is just gorgeous. I can see this working well with a bright pink or blue. I believe this one also masquerades under the name Sassy Chamallow in the US. Cost $4.83

033 Tender Caramel

Tender Caramel is a somewhat darker version of Sahara Treasure, it's a bit richer then Sahara as well with a noticeable lean toward a red almost plum color visible in the sparkles. Taupe might be a good descriptor, it's an attractive shade that beautifully mixed gold, brown and red into a very wearable shade. Despite the red and gold elements i do think it's still a cool leaning eyeshadow but could certainly be warmed up next to a coral or warm gold. Cost $4.83

034 Pepsy Coral

Pepsy Coral is certainly a unique eyeshadow color, i have similar shades in blushes and lipsticks but i can't honestly say that i have any similar eye-shadows. It's a distinctly warm toned coral with specks of gold and yellow to add depth. It's not as shimmery as many of the others but paired with a brown or taupe would still be fine for work. Cost $0.83

036 Naughty Strawberry

Naughty Strawberry was the first color that caught my eye and is largely responsible for my sudden increase in L'Oreal color infallible eye shadows. That said Naughty Raspberry might have been a more apt name. It's a warm deep pink in the pan but closer to a blue toned pale Barbie pink when swathed, the color is very build able and can be built up to be quite vibrant. The shimmer is mostly golden with a few visible silver glitters thrown in too.

013 Burning Black

 Burning Black is a very dark rich plum.  This one is an interesting color as it's quite clearly a plum but at first glance, and indeed when you wipe it away it looks black It;s a lot less shimmery then the others but the formula remains fantastic and it blends out like a charm without loosing it's vividness.

Cost  $9.95

408 Gleaming Bronze

Gleaming Bronze is a deep almost green toned bronze. It's darker and deeper then  Tender Caramel and Sahara Treasure.It has less shimmer but it has an almost glossy look and would make a oretty awesome neutral eyeshadow. Cost $7.50 for 2 (The second color i picked up looked like it had been used and was quite nasty inside so i will be returning it shortly)

The swatches are not very accurate as they were taken a bit later in the day and the color seems to have washed out quite a bit, it does however show you how pigmented these are, each of these was only a single swipe. I will certainly be on the lookout for more.

Here's a look i did using Goldmine, Naughty Strawberry, and Innocent Turqoise with a bit of bit of a dark blue (Dusk till Dawn MUA pallete) in the crease. I love how it turned out, looks like a starry night/galaxy type of look.